Jets-Raiders Wild Mock Trade Would Rewrite 2026 NFL Draft

Let's get this out of the way, the New York Jets aren't likely to land the No. 1 pick in the 2026 National Football League Draft.

Jets general manager Darren Mougey specifically said earlier in the offseason that he doesn't think a trade for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft is happening.

While this is the case, with just a few weeks to go until the NFL Draft, every potential scenario should at least be considered. ESPN's Bill Barnwell put together a mock draft full of trades and pitched a mock trade involving the Jets and No. 1 pick that would be an absolute dream for New York.

The Jets should at least call the Raiders

Fernando Mendoza participates in Indiana University's Pro Day at Mellencamp Pavilion on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Raiders get: 1-2, 2-33, 4-103," Barnwell wrote. "Jets get: 1-1. If you've been reading this piece over the past few years, you know I'm perpetually apologizing at the first overall pick. In most drafts, the first overall selection is a promising young quarterback going to a team that desperately needs one. That team is never going to trade out of that pick, which makes a conceit that's already hypothetical even more preposterous. I know. ...

"What might be at least a tiny bit more plausible, though, is a second scenario in which the Raiders don't feel quite as enthusiastic about Mendoza as people believe. Perhaps they prefer Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, as ESPN's Dan Orlovsky does after he evaluated both passers closely. Maybe they don't have a strong opinion about the two of them and just want to make sure they end up with one of the two potential franchise starters."

If the Jets somehow could land the No. 1 pick for this package, it would be a steal. In this scenario, the Jets would likely take Fernando Mendoza, still have the No. 16 pick in the first round and still have the No. 44 pick in the second round. This hypothetical is less than what the Cleveland Browns got back for the No. 2 pick last year from the Jacksonville Jaguars.

So, this is likely nothing more than a fun exercise. If the Raiders were actually open to the idea of trading the top pick, New York should be all over it. Sure, the Jets have three first-round picks in 2027 in a draft class that is going to be better for quarterbacks. But if the Jets could get Mendoza now, it would just help in the long run. Again, don't get your hopes up here, Jets fans. But the Jets should still call about No. 1.